Fear is no doubt a prevalent aspect of The Stranger by Albert Camus. What is most intriguing about this
novel though is that he has both sides of fear, the fearless and the fearful. For the main character, Meursault, societal
emotions are not something he participates in. He is sure to always tell the
truth, nothing more nor nothing less, and never waivers from this one moral of
his. The reader also learns that by some miracle Meursault does not judge
people, which is a human action. Judging people allows us to make notions about
whether this person is safe to be around, or if this person is safe to trust;
however, humans naturally have a fear of the unknown and because of this
society judges those it does not understand as a threat. This idea mainly comes
out in the court case after Meursault shoots a man for no inherently good
reason. The prosecution even says, “But here in this court the wholly negative
virtue of tolerance must give way to the sterner but loftier virtue of justice.
Especially when the emptiness of a man’s heart becomes, as we find it has in
this man, an abyss threatening to swallow up society.” There is nothing in
mankind that says a man must have feelings or he is a danger to society;
society has created this fear of “if one is not like society one is a threat to
it.”
On the flip side Meurseult is fearless even in the face of
death. When he is about to be executed he thinks, “I had only to wish that
there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they
greet me with cries of hate.” This aspect that Meursault has no fear hints a
larger message: Fear is when humans lack control. Meursault has accepted
everything in his life without judgment and without regret creating an
atmosphere where he has surrendered his control to life. He has become a person
floating through life never looking forward, and never really looking back. He
simply lives in the present. This living in the present removes any trace of
fear because we fear not what is happening to us, but what will result of what
is happening. When one lives only in the present there is no need to worry
about the future.
I really enjoyed reading this post, Brandon.
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about something that I have become very concerned about lately, and something that must be very prevalent in your life. It's what Colbert regularly satirizes ("Welcome to where fear lives!") in his show, but something most people don't laugh about.
Fearful people are often dangerous people. They imagine that they are creating more security by threatening others, or stockpiling weapons. It's interesting that the same society that condemns M at the same time represses the people whose country they occupy. And the prosecutor, as you rightly point out, is making his decision about M not based on an objective look at the facts, as much as a highly subjective and fear-based emotion. You're right about M too, being fearless at the end. He seems to have grown into this, and does live in the present. In that sense, he does have a certain Zen quality, but perhaps without the compassion. It's very hard to live in the present, isn't it? We constantly nag ourselves into worrying (fearing) the future, when often we have no good reason to do that. Yet we do. Why?
"Fear is when humans lack control."
ReplyDeleteThis line is beautifully said.
I absolutely loved the second part of your blog. M is definitely a character who does not focus on the future, and in no way does he dwell on the past. This lack of emotion towards life would allow someone to focus on the present with much greater respect. However, without the knowledge of remembering the past, wouldn't someone be in a child-like state of mind? A child has so many fears because they have not spent time understanding the world around them. If someone does not think about their past, they would be unable to grow. This lack of growth would lead to ignorance, and I see an ignorant person as having fear incorporated in much of their life.
On the other hand, think of The Matrix. A man wants to be removed from the real world and sent back to "the matrix" in order to avoid fear. This man wants to escape the troubles that are relevant in the world around him, and find him lacking all knowledge of this place. He would lack control of his life, but he believes this would lead to true happiness. He states that "ignorance is bliss."
I have enjoyed thinking about this idea that control leads to a diminished accessibility of fear.I know that I will be thinking about this idea for days to come.